"Is it even possible to win a war without fighting...." she whispered softly as the most beautiful warm energy washed over her.
"No war breeds winners." her father whispered down at her tired eyes and grim expression.
"Then if there are no winners, then why am I here?" she asked as the battle continued to rage around them.
Her father didn't say anything for a while, he merely kept his eyes down and his energy flowing as he considered her question which in his mind deserved an answer, though more from her than him.
"Lets just say, that if you win, any explanations needed are merely for yourself. If you lose, you shouldn't be here." he replied having quoted some general from his distant memories. [1]
Her eyes closed as his words lightly brushed against her mind. His words came nowhere near to explaining the raw emotions she was feeling at that moment, emotions she felt she was no longer entitled to, not when she knew without a doubt that this war went far beyond Qing Cang.
From where they were situated, not much could actually be seen, but she could certainly hear it. The battle had now reached a crescendo, the sounds of the dying were rising up to meet her and Qing Cang and Ye Huas battle had almost reached a conclusion.
And now and then, familiar voices could be heard. Her Disciple brothers whom she had turned her back on centuries before, had never seemed closer to her at that moment. But she guessed that being so close to dying, that explanation her father was talking about was one such example of why she was there.
As a child growing up on Kunlun Mountain, the sixteen boys she grew to know and love dearly brought back a multitude of memories to her as she lay unmoving while the rest of the world continued with their crazy determination to bring about a win or a loss.
Back then, she had seen them all as an extension of herself, this was what growing up among boys as a boy had given her. Back then, their often loud and exurberant yelling only added to her exciteable disposition and of course, from that, untold mischief would erupt. Only the last war saw very little excitement and loud exclamations of victory. If anything, it was as if they had known just how dire that war was going to be, as if sensing something was amiss, but like her, completely unprepared for when it came.
In fact, she had not even considered that they would lose. Under Mo Yuan and with her brothers beside her the entire way, she had vainy assumed that not only would they win the war and end Qing Cangs reign, but she would then go onto becoming a household name for her bravery and then marry her beloved shifu as soon as she graduated.
Only that ..... her mind wandered briefly as her father watched the tears spill from her closed lids and knowing exactly where her thoughts had gone.
The wind was picking up again, though she wasn't sure if it was the battle producing it, or the wind itself. On that hill top disconnected from everyone else, she suddenly began to notice the little things. The tangy scent of a nearby blueberry bush, the flutter of wings as minor flew overhead, the rush of water in motion not far from where she was lying.
Somewhere in her distant memories, the sound of a zither began to play. Its melody soft and gentle. Flowing like a soft summer rain on her mind as she lay quietly trying her best to forget. Only the face that came with the music roared into her mind as a chaotic symphony, an orchestra without a conductor.
Her eyes opened, but he remained firmly fixed in her mind and refusing to budge. Not even the sight of his robe suddenly coming into view above her head could shift the memory of his gentle form lightly plucking the zither as she lay her head on his knee relishing in the delight of his presence she thought would last forever.
"Xiao Wu, we need to move from here, do you think you can stand?" her father asked in an apprehensive rush and bringing the war back into full focus again.
Staring straight up, the war robes she knew all too well, were sweeping across her vision along with another she had hoped she would never see, and once again that explanation her father had alluded to came to mind as their battle began to also reach a crescendo.
And just as suddenly, terror filled her heart as she forced herself upright. This was not a battle that should be happening, and definitely not one that would end well for any of them. Struggling to remain upright, Bai Zhi roughly dragged her to her feet before forcing her to walk further back. The entire battle was now out of control. No matter what strategies one plans ahead of time, a war will always end in chaos as exhaustion kicks in along with the desperate will to live.
Her head continued to swivel back and in horror she took in the scene that had completely overtaken the Ruoshi river. She was absolutely positive this mayhem she remembered from the first war, came nowhere close to what she was seeing now.
Ye Hua was badly wounded as was Qing Cang, but what hurt more was the look of pure hatred in his eyes, a sight she never would have thought him capable of. Ye Hua was still relatively new to war, his past battles had been confined to border skirmishes and controlled battles. Not even the Mermaid wars came close to this, so to see his eyes filled with so much hate was just as upsetting for her as Mo Yuans battle against Guotin.
And as her father dragged her back further, her own emotions for all three men began to fill her completely. For Ye Hua, her love as Su Su had been unconditional, eternal and profound. Even after her trial had ended, a part of her still loved him only the death of her child, one who was not even given a chance to know her own love, had completely warped her mind. And in anger and hatred for everything he had put her through, she had done everything in her power to ensure he paid for that loss. And had Zhe Yan not explained the limited options he had available to him, and the final choice he made knowing he might lose her love just to save her life, gave her a much clearer understanding of the man himself.
Ye Hua was not to blame for what the Heavens had given her. They were the ones who threw her at not only a face similar to another, but to be brothers was in her mind unfair on all of them. But then trials were never fair. They were aimed to hurt, and if one wasn't strong enough, they suffered severely, even dying.
And that then had her mind turning to Mo Yuan. Her love for him, began centuries before she had even met Ye Hua, and throughout her entire time as his Disciple and then lover, her love for him as her immortal self was even more profound and eternal. Even then, as she watched him fighting for her as he had done countless times before, her love for him in the end was the only emotion in her heart at that moment.
But for Guotin, there was something very special. Had she been given a little more time, she knew that the same profound love would have been reached because her feelings for him were already deep. He was not an enemy and he was not what the world thought him to be. If anything, the Heavens were unfairly testing him too and for him her heart broke because their battle was futile, in the end, there would be only one that would hold her heart for all time.
And she would have dwelt on that a little longer, had a streak of lightening not suddenly brought her mind back to the battle raging over the river.
With eyes of steel, Ye Huas mind was clear of everything but the man in front of him. His sword was entangled in the halberd and for a few moments, their eyes locked and held as all manner of emotions raged through the ancient overlords bloodshot pupils. What hatred the man had for Mo Yuan was there for him to see, because their faces were far too similar. It was obvious that Qing Cang was seeing his brother and his mind had momentarily gone back.
It was all he needed. Fast as the hellfire lightening streaking overhead, Ye Huas blade spun wildly before crashing down with such force, that Qing Cang was not only knocked back by the sheer power of the hit, but his haldberd was split in half and sent hurdling back to the sands below along with with his broken and defeated body.
It was as if time stood still. Not a soul moved as Qing Cangs dying body crashed into the riverbank, followed swifly by Ye Hua. Hunched up, his black robed form hid the full extent of his injuries. But he still looked just as broken as Qing Cang and the silence that immediately followed as the rest took a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened, was just as deafeing as the battle that had literally come to an end.
In both horror and awe, the soldiers from both sides began to break apart as the realization that Qing Cang was either dead or dying began to seep into their consciousness. Blood stained faces all looked alike to her mind, as her gaze silently swept the battlefield before once again returning to Ye Hua who was slowly finding his feet. And as she watched the two sides split apart, one looking jubilant and the other defeated, her heart began to soar. Like the rest of them, the exhileration of finally bringing this madness to an end began to fill her with hope.
Briefly her eyes swept towards Mo Yuan, who was by that stage lowering himself to Ye Huas side followed by Guotin. Both men looked exhausted and near collapse, but the fire in both of their eyes was discernable even from where she was standing. She couldn't hear the exchange that followed between the Ye Hua and the weakening form of the Ghosts Overlord, but she imagined it wasn't pleasant.
"I should go and assist should they need me." Bai Zhi state flatly seeing as the three most powerful High Gods below looked as if they wouldn't manage against a bee let alone retaliation from Qing Cangs followers who were piling up behind him and looking ready to kill all over again.
"I'll be fine here father, you go." she replied before flopping down into the tall grass he had dragged her to. It wouldn't matter if she followed or not, because like them, she was too weak to do anything more, but her eyes remained on the small group as her father flew towards them, followed by Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan who only looked a fraction better than she felt.
Standing tall, she saw Ye Huas arm fling out towards Qing Cang and Mo Yuans hand grab at his robe to pull him back. She didn't need to hear anything, it was obvious that Qing Cangs mouth was spluttering out his dying words in a heated effort to rile his men up which seemed to working.
Only the moment he looked as if he might actually find his feet, then not only did he drop heavily to his knees, but a sound she thought she would never hear again, suddenly exploded above her head.
In sheer horror, her eyes flew upwards along with everyone else and suddenly her mind caved in on itself as the realization that yet another soul would have to pay for its conception. Below her, the struggle on the sand to hold Mo Yuan and Ye Hua back began to take over as her Disciple brothers raced to protect them both. While Zhen Yan had taken a firm hold of Bai Zhi seeing as he looked as if he was going to rise.
Briefly her eyes swept over the small group where Guotin was also staring up in fear and looking just as horrified as the rest of them. The shouting and shoving grew in intensity as Qing Cangs soul began to unravel and with it went his soldiers who were being snatched up by the roaring bell.
Her eyes were seeing the chaos below her, but her mind had travelled back seventy thousand years to that other war and the heartbreak that had guided her path not long after. And suddenly her fathers words were once again ringing in her ears as her tired body began to rise into the air.
None noticed the remnants of her blue gown as she rose higher and higher until she remained stationary below the firey hell dragging up much lesser Immortals by the score. And for a few seconds she looked down at the three men who had all given her three different paths while her fathers words echoed in her mind.
Looking up at her, the three stood stock still, as if unable to comprehend what she was doing, but she briefly caught their eyes as an explanation began to form in her mind.
Ye Hua had merely been the catalyst for her Ascension and the look she gave him fully exonerated him from everything that had occurred. In her mind, the Heavens had also given her trial to him, and though he was not aware of it, when he fully let go of her, he too would ascend. To Ye Hua, she gave him her gratitude for the harsh lessons and a bitter sweet love that ended there.
Next her eyes landed on Guotin. In him she had found a deep and meaningful friendship for a man whom the Heavens were also being unkind to. And for a moment, their eyes locked and held as she gave him her answer, the one she had not been given a chance to, an answer and an explanation that she cared deeply for him. Back then, she had thought she had made up her mind, only the bell raging above her head soon had her quickly seeking out the eyes of the one who in the end mattered more than anything else in the world.
This man, the Heavens had chosen to punish severely for his mistakes and with their punishments had come her own. For far too long she had made him suffer, when in reality, he too was facing yet one more test of the soul that she had unwitting forced on him, when all he had ever wanted was her. In her eyes, she gave Mo Yuan her undying love and forgiveness. But in the same breath she also gave him her final words.
Time no longer mattered for either men, who were still struggling to be set free. They all saw the look of resignation in her eyes and the final decision she had made, before her gaze landed on Mo Yuans upturned face and though bloodied and scarred, the tears were raining down his face as he threw his Disciples back only to be snatched at yet again.
"I'm sorry....." she whispered softly. It wasn't audible to any of them, but the sad look in her eyes and the way her gaze lingered a little longer on his face, was all the explanation any of them needed. No war breeds winners, she thought sadly to herself as she allowed oonly the one mans face to fill her mind.
Then watching in horror as she then turned her face upwards, the spark of blue energy was the last thing they saw, before she completely disappeared behind the blinding flash of white light.
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[1] Quote from unknown source